Todd Janzen is an attorney at Janzen Agricultural Law LLC (www.aglaw.us) in Indianapolis. Todd grew up on a Kansas grain and livestock farm and now practices law in the agriculture and technology fields. Todd is the past chair of the American Bar Association’s Agricultural Management Committee and authors a blog addressing legal issues facing agriculture: www.aglaw.us/JanzenAgLaw. Contact: janzen@aglaw.us.

The Key Elements of a Soil Carbon Contract

By Todd Janzen posted on June 4, 2025 | Posted in Soil Health

What’s typically in these contracts? This post describes five of the most common elements to a soil carbon contract.

Is an AI-Drafted Contract Better Than No Contract?

By Todd Janzen posted on April 30, 2025 | Posted in Precision Agriculture

I recently asked Chat GPT: “Draft a lease for 80 acres of farmland in Marion County, Indiana at $250/acre for 1 year.” Chat GPT responded with 12 paragraph Farm Lease Agreement, which I have included below.

45Z Tax Credits Bring Ag Data Questions

By Todd Janzen posted on November 19, 2024

45Z brings a lot of promises to midwestern corn farmers, but it also brings a lot of unanswered questions about what ag data is necessary to verify compliance and how such data will be used.

New Concepts in the Updated Core Principles for Ag Data

By Todd Janzen posted on June 8, 2024 | Posted in Precision Agriculture

The updated Core Principles require companies to explain whether data is anonymized and whether a farmer can opt out of contributing to the anonymized and aggregated dataset.

Insets vs. Offsets on the Farm

By Todd Janzen posted on May 2, 2024

Two words frequently used when discussing reduction of the carbon footprint for agriculture are “insets” and “offsets.”

Five Questions to Ask Before Signing a Soil Carbon Contract

By Todd Janzen posted on October 12, 2023

There has been a lot of talk about soil carbon farming in the last few years. The USDA describes “soil carbon farming” as “the use of specific on-farm practices designed to take carbon out of the air and store it in soils and plant material.”

How to get No-Tillers on Board for Carbon Contracts

By Todd Janzen posted on September 26, 2022 | Posted in Nutrient Management, Soil Health

A group of companies called the Agricultural Climate Market Collaborative believes that lack of “transparency” is one of major road blocks to acceptance. To address transparency, the Collaborative developed eleven principles to guide carbon ecosystem marketers when forming these new contracts with growers.

Maybe Carbon Contracts Will Finally Convince Us to Update Real Estate Laws

By Todd Janzen posted on May 14, 2021 | Posted in Soil Health

Source: Janzen Ag Law

Carbon sequestration contracts for farmland are attempts to restrict usage of land. Historically, restriction on land were put in place by recording easements, mortgages, leases, or deed restrictions.

Videos

Sidedress Switch: No-Till Innovator Swaps Coulters for Knives

On this episode of Conservation Ag Update, brought to you by Yetter Farm Equipment, the team pays a visit to No-Till Innovator Jim Leverich for a look at some of his new equipment in Sparta, Wis.

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ARTICLES

The Key Elements of a Soil Carbon Contract

Is an AI-Drafted Contract Better Than No Contract?

45Z Tax Credits Bring Ag Data Questions

New Concepts in the Updated Core Principles for Ag Data

Insets vs. Offsets on the Farm

Five Questions to Ask Before Signing a Soil Carbon Contract

How to get No-Tillers on Board for Carbon Contracts

Maybe Carbon Contracts Will Finally Convince Us to Update Real Estate Laws

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